Tag: Occasions

Stuffed Animals – How to Choose the Perfect Size

Corina Volegna asked:

Finding the perfect stuffed animal is just the beginning of the gift decision-making process. Your next step is finding the right size. Plush toys are not one size fits all, and unlike shirts or pants, you can’t try them on to find the one that works perfectly. Of course, with plush animals, you know which size “fits” by looking at the occasion and the person who you are giving the gift to.

Let’s discuss what constitutes small, medium, and large stuffed toys before getting into the appropriate times to get what. Of course, unlike clothes, plush animals don’t have sizes on the label because they simply do not have a standard sizing chart. So to make things simple for the purposes of this article, let’s size stuffed animals within a 4 to 90 inch range, as they rarely get smaller or larger than that. For “small” stuffed animals, let’s consider them anything under or equal to 18 inches. For a toy to be medium, let’s put it between 19 and 42 inches. Lastly, let’s consider large toys anything above 42 inches long. Next, let’s look at the appropriate occasions and people for each size.

Small Sized Plush Animals

Whether they be small or extra-small, little toys are often the cutest of all. Because of this cuteness, small toys are especially appropriate for children. With smaller stuffed animals, there’s plenty of room for quite a few of them to be piled on their beds ready for nightly snuggling. These can also be a great “thinking of you” gift for a significant other, especially stuffed animals that are extra-small. This way the gift is still inexpensive for you, but still more than thoughtful enough to make an impact. For example, you could put out a small stuffed bunny who’s holding a post-it or a card with a loving sentiment written on or in it.

Medium Sized Plush Animals

Medium sized stuffed animals can be great for a lot of occasions. For example, they are the perfect size when you want them to hold something, such as flowers or chocolates for any number of events. Maybe you want to pair a teddy bear with a box of truffles for Valentine’s day, or maybe match it with a bouquet of flowers for Mother’s Day. There are plenty of options. These are also the perfect size for home décor. Make someone’s home more fun by giving them a stuffed leopard for their couch that’s in complementary colors to the rest of their decorations. Or, help unify a theme in their vacation home. Maybe their second home is in the country, get a forest animal, such as a stuffed fox or a plush wolf.

Large Sized Plush Animals

Large sizes can be the most difficult to find, but they can also be incredibly exciting. A child is probably going to be thrilled with a 42 inch stuffed monkey, as it’s even bigger than they are! A stuffed animal as big or bigger than they can be played with a lot, and can become a good friend. These are a great gift for young adults too. Give a new college girl an extra-large teddy bear to keep in her dorm room. That way she’ll always have something cute and cuddly, (and big enough to hug), to get her through tough times and the loneliness of being away from home for the first time.

Remember, keep these guidelines in mind when you’re trying to choose what size stuffed animal to get someone. Different sizes are appropriate for different occasions, so follow these tips and your gift recipient will not be disappointed!

Occasions to Use Personalized Stationery

Brian Jenkins asked:

Is letter writing a lost art? In these days of point and click communications, the idea of personalized stationery may seem a bit outdated, a throwback to a more elegant age when visitors left engraved calling cards and even luncheon invitations were sent on monogrammed, embossed paper. Today, even resumes and event invitations are exchanged electronically, so what place could personalized stationery have in our world?

The answer might surprise you, though it should not come as any surprise. It was only a few decades ago that Emily Post was warning people that a telephone call did not replace the need for a formal thank you note, nor did it carry the same personal touch that makes it a treasured tradition. Today, Miss Manners says the same thing about emailed thank you notes, and all over the country, relationship coaches and personnel recruiters say the same thing – nothing makes an impression quite as well as a hand-written letter on personalized stationery.

So when is personalized stationery appropriate? It all depends on precisely what you define as personalized stationery. It can be anything from casual memo pads printed with your name and a whimsical message to formal stationery engraved or printed with your name, address and title. You can often order personalized stationery in lots as small as 100 sheets. When would you use personalized stationery? Here are just a few of the times when a hand-written note on personalized stationery is a welcome gesture that makes an excellent impression:

Write cover letters for your resumes on personalized stationery.

A cover letter typed on personalized stationery should accompany any resumes that you send out when you’re job hunting. Quality stationery printed with your full name and contact details presents you as a true professional when you are job hunting. Follow up after interviews with a hand-written thank you note on less formal personalized stationery to cement the impression. Nearly every human resources professional will agree that a personal hand-written thank you note is the very best way to make yourself stand out in the minds of hiring managers.

Encourage letter writing in a child by giving them personalized stationery as a gift.

Tuck a box of personalized stationery into your children’s luggage when you send them off to camp for the summer. It will encourage them to write to you while they’re gone and start a lifelong habit of personal communication.

Keep personalized thank you notes on hand for all gift-giving occasions.

Personalized thank you notes are another great way to encourage good habits in your children. Stock up on a couple of boxes of thank you notes personalized with their names at birthday and Christmas time to make it easier for them to sit down after the fact. Saying thank you with a personalized thank you note is easy, and your children will learn quickly just how much it is appreciated.

Casual personalized stationery can make your notes stand out.

Personalized stationery does not have to be formal to make an impression. Memo pads personalized with your name and something as simple as “From the desk of…” makes your notes stand out. They are great for tucking into books or slipping into reports for your boss to mark passages. Your notes will be more memorable and stand out from all the rest of the jotted notes on the desk.

Keep personalized stationery on hand to send personal notes for special occasions.

Email is so impersonal. People remember and save handwritten notes that they receive for birthdays, the birth of a child or any other occasion. In fact, there’s no need to wait for a special occasion to send a handwritten note to a friend. It takes so little time to jot a quick note, drop it into an envelope and mail it – but the effect is enormous.

Send condolences on elegant, personalized stationery.

Condolence cards may be more common, but a hand-written note on elegant, polished stationery makes a very personal statement. It says that you cared enough to use your own words to express your sentiments and convey them in an understated, elegant way that does not detract from the meaning. Simple, smooth cards with a single color border are an excellent option for more formal communications like condolences.

Just for teachers! Send notes home to parents on personalized stationery.

Teachers certainly have plenty of reasons to send notes home. Why not reserve a special style of personalized stationery just for those ‘Johnny did something awesome today!’ notes? Kids and parents both will look forward to them.

Announce a new address with personalized “We moved!” stationery.

A short note jotted on stationery personalized with your new address is a great way to keep your friends and acquaintances up to date on your new location. Just order it a few weeks before moving day so you can send out notes to everyone once you’re settled in.